I´m from Germany and having lyme disease - which never was the main problem - and bartonella - which IS the main problem, I think.After a long time with no symptoms I relapsed in 2016. Suddenly I got histamine intolerant and for a long time I didn´t realize where the dizziness came from, until I noticed a connection to certain fruits (avocado), vegetables (aubergines) and fermented things like parmesan. On a low histamine diet I lived a nearly normal life. Now I wanted to attaque the source of my food intolerance, which in my opinion is bart related and two weeks ago I started drinking a tea made of houttuynia and what shall I say... I´m feeling worse.

My heartbeat is set up to 65 bpm (normally I´m having 51 bpm (I´m doing a lot of sports.), I´m really exhausted, my little joints (toes and fingers) hurt from time to time and I got a scratch mark in my neck. My tinnitus increased and I´m having a little stomach and back pain. My joint cracking is indescribable.

I´m drinking two cups of the tea per day (one in the morning and one in the evening) - 3 grams on three cups. Additional: During the day I try to drink a lot of purified water, am taking milk thistle, am on a sugar free diet and am taking opc and msm.

Should I stop the tea? Is this exhausted feeling normal? Did anyone of you go through the same feeling?Is this just coincidence?

I´m sorry for all the questions. I registered here because in Germany the information on bartonella is very poor.

Yes, I relapsed. I got treatment from 2008 to 2010 with different i.v. abx (Minocyclin and Clarythromicin).After finishing the Cowden-Protocoll I was symptom free for about 5 years. In June 2016 I had a new tick bite and within one week all my symptoms came back.

Trying the same abx in 2017 got me no relief. It seems that these abx don´t work anymore. The first time I got them I nearly couldn´t handle the herx. I felt like a zombie for months.

I´m afraid that the bartonella develop an immunity against the tea by stopping taking it.

I'm so very sorry about the relapse and the abx not working the 2nd time around. I've heard of that happening before.

IMO, you are having a very clear bartonella herx due to the houttuynia.

Herbs tend to work best when dosed more frequently - 3 to 4 times daily. I would add up the total daily dosage you're currently doing and cut it down to half or even a third. Then take that amount spread out over 3-4 doses throughout the day.

I agree with Girlie. You're not likely to develop resistance to the herbs. They are much more complex than pharmaceutical antibiotics.

Are you taking any other antimicrobials besides houttuynia? Herbs work best with other herbs. Stephen Buhner has a full herbal protocol for treating bartonella. There's a lot more than houttuynia in the protocol.

Thank You for your kind answers!@ walking by faith: So not 2 cups, like now, but 1/3 cup 4 times a day?

At the moment I´m not taking any other antimicrobials, no. I added OPC, MSM and that´s it. I know Buhners protocol but am very careful of using it, because of having gut problems and a serious food intolerance.